Chronometric culinary system.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRONOMETRIC CULINARY SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 12, 1907.

Application tiled October 31,1905. Serial No. 285,337.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT S. WOODWARD, Jr. a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Ohronometric CulinarySystem, of which the following is a specification.

In the cooking of cotton-seed meats in a battery of heaters as atpresent practiced the charging, cooking, and discharging of the heatersis successive and so regulated by the cook, mainly by reference to acommon clock, that the greatest amount of work may be accomplished in alimited time; also, in order to obtain a maximum yield of oil it isnecessary to operate upon successive batches of meats in as uniform amanner as possible.

One of the serious objections to the present process is that owing tothe absence of suitable automatic mechanisms it becomes practicallyimpossible to maintain a system of strictest regularity at the heatersregardless of the temporary suspensionof one or more of them, and sincethe responsibility has rested entirely upon the cook the yield of oilhas consequently varied considerably, according to his skill andknowledge;

My invention relates to an electric signaling system adapted toautomatically and successively operate for definite intervals at certainpredetermined periods a series of mu dible and visual alarms; and theobjects are to enable the cook or others in charge of the operation of abatteryof heaters to uninterruptedly control the same more accuratelyand eflectively than can be done by any existing means, and thus insureagainst any ir regularity due to the temporary stoppage of any one ormore of a battery of heaters and greatly increase the yield of oilobtained from the meats. I attain these objects by the mechanismillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents adiagrammatic View r of the system. Fig. 2 is an elevation in detail of asingle disk and its corresponding adjustable brush. Fig. 3 is adiagrammatic perspective view of the disks and time-shaft, illustratingthe staggered arrangement of the respective commutator-bars onsuccessive disks.

Similar numerals designate similar parts throughout the several views.

generator 1 supplies an electric current to the shaft 2 of thecommutator and thence to the commutating-disks 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

The shoulder 9 of the disk 3, which is typical of the others, isprovided with an adjustingscrew 10, whereby the disk may be adjustedrelatively to the shaft and held in any desired position. Aconstant-speed motor 11 of any common type, preferably a spring-motor,is adapted to constantly revolve the shaft 2, hereinafter designated asa time-shaft, in definite periods which may be varied at will. A brush12 in my preferred embodiment is in circuit through wire 39 with a lamp19 and a bell 20, arranged in parallel. Numerals 22 and 21 designatecorresponding bells and light upon heater 1 1.

The numerals 13 14. 15 16 17 18 designate the respective heaters, whichpreferably have a series of electric lights to correspond to each heatereither mounted thereon or adjacent thereto. 0

An automatic switch 23 of the solenoid type is connected by a shunt37'with the main circuit 38 and is normally closed, but held open whensufiicient current is supplied to the main circuit 38 from thegenerator. A secondary battery (designated by the numerals 24 and 25) isso connected with the main circuit by wires 36 and 38 as to beautomatically cut in when the current supplied from the generator fallsbelow a certain predetermined amount.

Each brush is provided, as illustrated, with a sleeve 26 and anadjusting-screw 27, whereby the terminal 28 of the circuit 40 may bereadily disconnected.

Commutator bars or segments 30 and 31, the former being relativelyminute, are car ried by each disk and connected with the shaft 2 byinsulated-wire conductors 83 and 32, respectively.

The numeral 34 represents the insulation on each disk, whereby contactis limited to the connections 33 and 32.

The shoulder of each disk is provided with a graduated dial 35 on itsvertical face, whereby the commutatonbars of each disk may be set in apredetermined position with respect to an opposing index 35 upon theperiphery of the shaft.

The construction of my improved system, will be more full illustrated bydescribing its operation an advantages, which are as follows: Fromhabitual practice it has been determined that about two minutes issuflicient time to allow for the discharging and recharging of a singleheater. If, therefore, the time-shaft is caused to revolve at a knownspeed-for example, one revolution in seventeen minutes-then a largecommutator-bar is of a length sufficient to make the contact for twominutes, and thus flash a light and simultaneously operate an electricbell. For a seventeen-minute cycle each successive disk is adjusted uponthe shaft so that a large commutator will contact with its respectivebrush just two and one-quarter minutes later than the next precedingcommutator. Then for a series of six heaters, which is the customarynumber operated by a single cook, there will be a light, preferably red,flashed to indicate the particular heater which is to be discharged andrecharged, a bell-signal will simultaneously be operated, and bothpreferably are caused to remain in circuit continuously throughout thetwominute period. Exactly one-quarter of a minute later the signals uponthe next heater will flash in a similar manner, and thus the heaters maybe charged and discharged with exact uniformity, In operating with aseventeen-minute period it is obvious that a period of three andthree-quarters minutes will elapse between the starting of the cookingperiod of the sixth heater and the expiration of the seventeen-minutecooking period of the first heater, and this period affords a brief restfor the cook, which is essential in thev practical working of suchoperations.

The relatively minute commutator-bars are for the purpose of operatingreminder or warning alarms, and in practice the adjustment and length ofsuch signals are preferably such that they will. operate one-half-minute prior to the main alarm and continue for one-quarterof a minute,thus affording both an indication of the approachingexpiration of thetwo-minute period and also of the longer resting period.

In the case of a breaking down of one or more of the heaters it isessential to the operation of the heaters that means be supplied foradjusting the alarms of the respective heaters so that those upon theparticular heater which is cut out of operation will not be operated andcause confusion of the attendant. adjusting means, so that not only abrush can be cut out, but also that the disk immediately following theone cut out by the disconnection of its respective brush may be adjustedto cause the alarms to sound a certain period in advance, correspondingto the interval between the operation of the respective alarms as, forexample, if heater 14 breaks downand is cutout of the operation then thedisk 4 is cut out by disconnecting its corresponding brush, and thendisks 5, 6, 7, and 8 are set To accomplish this, I provide.

upon the shaft by means of the graduated dials and a fixed arrow orpoint (not shown) upon the shaft, so that the commutator-bars of disk 5are the same period behind those of disk 3 as were the bars of disk 4.Then the bars of disk 6 are circumferentially adjusted to occupy theprevious position with respect to the fixed arrow upon the shaft as didthe bars of 5, and similarly with the rest. Obviously this adjustment ismade just prior to recharging a particular heater.

in providing means for regulating the length of the commutator-bars itis obvious that different disks having the suitable size of bar may besubstituted, or the bars them selves may be removably attached to thedisks. Also either a series of bells may be supplied or merely a singlecentral gong, all without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim l. The combination of anelectric alarn1- circuit including signaling means therein, atime-shaft, a series of disks thereon each provided with a large and arelatively rninute commutator-bar, means for accurately adjusting all ofsaid commutator-bars peripherally of the time-shaft, brushes adapted toindependently engage each commutator-bar and normally serving toautomatically close a the circuit through the signaling means andsuccessively operate the same for periods exactly corresponding tothelength of the respective commutator-bars, and means for independentlydisengaging each brush, substantially as described.

2. The combination of an electric alarmcircuit, a time-shaft, a seriesof disks provided with hollow shoulders, sleeved thereon. graduateddials upon the vertical faces of said shoulders, an opposing index uponthe time-shaft, means for locking the disks upon the time-shaft,commutator-bars on each disk, brushes, having loose engagement with theterminals of the circuit and normally serving to automatically close thecircuit through the signaling means and successively operate the samefor periods exactly correspond ing to the length of the respectivecommutator-bars, means for locking the said brushes in engagement withthe circuit-terminals, and means for supplying an uninterrupted currentthrough the circuit when closed, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

ROBERT S. WOODVVARD, JR.

Witnesses: Y

M. G. Woonwann, W. Hasrmes SWENARTON.

